Social Media in the Fitness Industry: What’s the Problem?
Social Media in the Fitness Industry
It’s no surprise that exercise and movement have a positive impact on your mental health. Regular physical activity is strongly linked to positive mental health outcomes, with research showing it can:
- Improve mood and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.
- Increase confidence and self-esteem.
- Reduce stress and frustration.
But does anyone ever truly ask themselves why they are working out? For women, young girls specifically, if you ask them why they go to the gym, their response will most likely be to lose weight. For boys it’s the exact opposite – to gain muscles. The guardian conducted research with the Leisure Database for why members of the gym attend so often. 75 percent of 13-28 year olds said it was to feel more confident in their appearance. This has not always been the mindset surrounding fitness, so there is a prime motivator…
Social media; the motivator
Social media has had far reaching impacts on the fitness industry and has certainly placed a larger emphasis on the aesthetics of fitness. The rise of influencers and amateur fitness models has led to a greater focus on achieving a certain body type rather than achieving overall health and wellness goals. And a large problem with today’s society is the perception of the truth. What I mean by this is growing commercialization has resulted in A.I. making it hard to tell what’s real or not, and it is very prevalent in the fitness industry.
Deception is evident in these amateur fitness influencers as they can use photoshop or other editing apps to make their physique look more defining or accentuated when in reality, they are simply presenting a false version of themselves to their entire following.
Sociologist Naomi Wolf claims the idea of the perfect body image was simply a means to control and exploit women and images that unnaturally accentuate feminine features like a small waistline can lead to eating disorders. Kate Winslet has actually complained to the media about the way her image was manipulated through photoshop. So, through the misuse of social media, it instills false body expectations in the minds of fans or following, which just so happens to be teenagers and young people.
Disordered eating and exercise
Social media significantly links to disordered eating by promoting unrealistic body ideals, fostering social comparison, and exposing users to harmful “thinspiration / fitspiration” content, leading to body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, and increased risk of eating disorders, especially in teens. A current trend circling TikTok is lemon balm tea, which the creators claim to be a “Natural Ozempic”. Seriously? Those who experience exercise dependence are four times more likely to also experience an eating disorder compared to the general population (Trott et al, 2020). Engaging in enjoyable movement is an important part of maintaining overall wellbeing. However, sometimes engaging in too much exercise can be a sign of more complex issues. Disordered eating goes hand in hand with exercise dependency.
Some stats
According to research done by the NHS – The rate of possible eating problems in 2023 was 12.3% in children aged 11 to 16 years. This rose to 59.4% in young people aged 17 to 19 years. Rates for young people aged 20 to 25 years were like those aged 17 to 19 years; 57.2% screened positive for a possible eating issue in 2023.
Recovery from eating disorders and exercise can be quite detrimental until full weight restoration and emotional recovery has occurred. And within the limitation of intentional exercise links the rise of incidental exercise. Incidental exercise may include things like walking to the shops instead of driving or cleaning the house vigorously. It’s important to reduce incidental exercise just as you would traditional exercise, as this can be just as detrimental to recovery. And in recovery of eating disorders, health professionals may not advise this, but limit social media intake, as the social media atmosphere cultivates toxicity.
To Finish
If you are to take one thing away from this blog, remember people only show the positives in their life (which might not even be real) on social media, and we never truly see what happens behind a screen.
But what I am not saying to do is go and delete all forms of social media and switch to a Nokia. I’m simply suggesting that the next time you go to look up exercise routines on Instagram and TikTok, ask yourself, is this person a qualified professional? Do they know my body and metabolism? And most of all, is this actually real?
Juliette
**Note from the PTI Team – This is Juliette’s first blog for PTI. At the time of writing Juliette is only 16 years old. A huge well done Juliette, we are looking forward to reading more blogs from you in the future**
